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Senior Leisure Reporter
AN all-male, rib-cracking drama group from Nyamandlovu — Maraburabu — left the audience asking for more after they gave a dazzling and captivating performance a fortnight ago in Tsholotsho, during the honouring of Neighbourhood Watch Committee (NWC) members from Lupane police district.
The group’s spokesperson Lovemore Tshuma said the group was formed last year with the objective of promoting cultural and traditional values in the society, after the realisation that there was a growing trend of cultural decadence among youths.
“The group was formed last year with the aim of restoring sanity in our societies through promotion of local traditions and cultures, seeing that there is a growing trend of moral and social decadence in our communities,” said Tshuma.
He said the group aimed at achieving this through entertaining people at various events such as weddings and other functions, which they might have been invited although he lamented lack of financial resources that he said was limiting their travel.
“We have performed at quite a few events but have managed to pass the message. This is not an easy thing but we feel that we are mandated to do so because we feel our youths have lost all sense of morality. We particularly focus on promoting traditions and culture through contemporary dance routines, standup comedy antics and drama,” he said.
He, however, appealed to the corporate world for sponsorship.
“As you can see today we were dressed in our own clothes because we don’t have enough funds to get costumes so that we look professional and presentable to the people or crowds we perform for. We also lack funds for transport and in that regard we have been failing to promote ourselves around the district, if there are big events which we would have been invited to perform at.
“We therefore seek assistance from well-wishers and also take this opportunity to ask people to hire us at various functions so that we grow as a group and also promote our cultural and traditional values in an entertaining way,” he said.
The eight-member group is presently based in Nyamandlovu, and has developed a large following in the district.
“Only four of us managed to travel to Tsholotsho today owing much to lack of funds for transport. We are really popular around this district but we feel we will fast lose popularity because of our failure to look and act professionally because of these constraints,” said Tshuma.
During their performance they recited a short comical drama of how society had changed and how people had adopted slang as a language and in the process disrespect elders, something they said was driving people to behave immorally.
derick.khumalo